Step 5: Add Nodes to the Cluster

Updated: January 13, 2014

Applies To: Microsoft HPC Pack 2012, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2

HPC Pack simplifies the process of deploying on-premises nodes by providing automatic node imaging, automatic naming of nodes, and other capabilities to streamline deployment tasks. Also, it provides tools that you can use to monitor the progress of your deployment.

Important

Before you add nodes to your cluster, verify that the physical network topology of your cluster matches the topology specified on your head node.

All nodes should have the latest BIOS and firmware installed prior to the installation of any operating system.

You can use the Add Node Wizard to add nodes to your HPC cluster. There are three ways to add on-premises nodes to your cluster:

Deploy compute nodes or broker nodes from bare metal

Add nodes by importing a node XML file

Add preconfigured nodes

For more information about each of these three node deployment options, see “1.4. Decide what type of nodes you want to add to your cluster and how many” in Step 1: Prepare for Your Deployment, earlier in this guide.

Important

Ensure that nothing can restart or shut down the head node during the node deployment process, or the deployment might fail. For example, temporarily disable automatic updates on the head node.

To complete this procedure, you must have a template that includes a step to deploy an operating system image. If you do not have a template that includes a step to deploy an operating system image, create one by following the steps in “3.4. Create a node template” in Step 3: Configure the Head Node, earlier in this guide.

Before turning on a node for this procedure, verify in the configuration of the BIOS of that computer that the node will boot from the network adapter that is connected to the private network, instead of booting from the local hard drive or another device, and verify that Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot is enabled for that network adapter.

The default for HPC Pack is to respond only to Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) requests that come from existing nodes. This default setting is automatically changed to respond to PXE requests from all nodes when you add nodes from bare metal by using the Add Node Wizard. Also, you can manually change this setting in the Options menu, under Deployment Settings.

To deploy nodes from bare metal

On the Select Deployment Method page, click Deploy nodes from bare metal using an operating system image, and then click Next.

On the Select New Nodes page, in the Node template list, click the name of a node template that includes a step to deploy an operating system image.

Turn on the computers that you want to add as nodes to your cluster. Computers will be listed in the Add Node Wizard as they contact the head node during PXE boot. They will be named using the naming series that you specified when you configured the head node. For more information, see “3.3. Configure the naming of new nodes” in Step 3: Configure the Head Node, earlier in this guide.

When all computers that you have turned on are listed, click Select all, and then click Deploy. If you see a node that you do not want to deploy at this time, you can unselect it.

On the Completing the Add Node Wizard page, if you will be deploying more nodes, click Continue responding to all PXE requests. If you will not be deploying more nodes, click Respond only to PXE requests that come from existing nodes.

To monitor deployment progress, select the Go to Node Management to track progress check box, and then click Finish. For more information, see 5.4. Monitor deployment progress.

The following procedure describes how to add nodes by importing a node XML file.

Important

To complete this procedure, you must have a valid node XML file that was provided to you by your vendor of cluster solutions or that you have previously created from a preconfigured cluster. For more information, see Appendix 2: Creating a Node XML File, later in this guide.

To add nodes by importing a node XML file

On the Select Deployment Method page, click Import nodes from a node XML file, and then click Next.

On the Select Node XML File page, type or browse to the location of the node XML file, and then click Import.

To monitor deployment progress, on the Completing the Add Node Wizard page, select the Go to Node Management to track progress check box, and then click Finish. For more information, see 5.4. Monitor deployment progress.

A preconfigured node is a computer that has HPC Pack already installed and that is connected to the HPC cluster networks according to the network topology that you have chosen for your cluster. After HPC Pack is installed on all the nodes that you want to add to your cluster, you can use the Add Node Wizard on the head node to add the preconfigured nodes to your cluster.

The following procedures describe how to add preconfigured compute to your HPC cluster. The first procedure describes how to install HPC Pack on the computers that will act as nodes, and the second procedure describes how to add the preconfigured nodes to the cluster.

We strongly recommend that you perform a clean installation of the Windows operating system before installing HPC Pack. If you want to install HPC Pack on an existing installation of Windows Server, remove all server roles first, and then follow the procedures in this guide.

To complete this procedure, you must have a node template that does not include a step to deploy an operating system image, or you must have a workstation node or unmanaged server node template, depending on the type of node that you want to add. If you do not have a node template, create one by following the steps in “3.4. Create a node template” in Step 3: Configure the Head Node, earlier in this guide.

To install HPC Pack on a node computer

To start the HPC Pack Installation Wizard on the node computer, run Setup.exe from the HPC Pack installation media or from a network location.

On the HPC Pack Setup screen, click New installation or add new features to an existing installation.

In the HPC Pack Installation Wizard, on the Getting Started page, click Next.

On the Microsoft Software User Agreement page, read or print the software license terms in the license agreement, and accept or reject the terms of that agreement. If you accept the terms, click Next.

On the Select Installation Type page, depending on the type of on-premises node that you want to add to your cluster, click one of the available options: Join an existing HPC cluster by creating a new compute node, Join an existing HPC cluster by creating a new WCF broker node, or Join an existing HPC cluster by creating a new workstation node or unmanaged server node. Then, click Next.

Note

Depending on the Windows operating system that is installed on the computer, one or more options may be unavailable on the Select Installation Type page.

On the Installation Rules page, review the results of the pre-installation tests on your environment. If the Status of an item is Failed, review the information provided on the test and make any necessary configuration changes in your environment. If necessary, to run the tests again, click Rerun, or start the installation of HPC Pack again. After all the tests pass, click Next.

On the Join Cluster page, type the computer name of the head node on your cluster, and then click Next.

Continue to follow the steps in the installation wizard to complete the installation of HPC Pack.

After HPC Pack is installed on all the nodes that you want to add to your cluster, use the Add Node Wizard on the head node to add the preconfigured nodes to your cluster.

To add preconfigured nodes to your cluster

On the Select Deployment Method page, depending on the type of node that you want to add, click Add compute nodes or broker nodes that have already been configured or Add workstation nodes and unmanaged server nodes that have already been configured, and then click Next.

Turn on all the preconfigured nodes that you want to add to your cluster.

After all the preconfigured nodes are turned on, on the Before Deploying page, click Next.

On the Select New Nodes page, in the Node template list, click the name of the node template that you want to use. If you selected to add workstation nodes, only workstation node templates will be listed.

On the list of nodes, select the preconfigured nodes that you want to add to your cluster. To select all the preconfigured nodes, click Select all.

To add the selected nodes to your cluster, click Add.

To monitor deployment progress, select the Go to Node Management to track progress check box, and then click Finish. For more information, see 5.4. Monitor deployment progress.

During the node deployment process, the node state is set to Provisioning. You can monitor the progress of the node deployment process in Node Management. You can also see detailed information for each deployment operation, and any errors that may have occurred.

After the deployment process is complete, the node state changes to Offline. You must bring nodes online before they can process jobs. For more information, see “7.2. Bring a node online” in Step 7: Run a Test Job on the Cluster, later in this guide.

To monitor deployment progress

If HPC Cluster Manager is not already open on the head node, open it.

To view information about the deployment operations:

In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, click Operations.

To view more information about a specific operation, click that operation. The Detail Pane will list the log entries for that operation.

To view the list of nodes that are currently being deployed:

In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node State, click Provisioning.

To view the list of operations related to the deployment of a specific node, double-click that node, and then click the Operations tab.

To bring online the nodes that have finished deploying:

In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node State, click Offline.

Select all the nodes that you want to bring online. To select all nodes that are currently offline, on the list of offline nodes, click any node and then press CTRL+A.

In the Actions pane, click Bring Online.

If the deployment of a node fails, the state of that node is set to Unknown and the health is set to Error. To determine the reason for the failure, review the provisioning log for that node and the list of operations that were performed:

In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node Health, click Error.

To review the provisioning log for a node, in the views pane, click the node, and then in the Detail Pane, click the Provisioning Log tab.

To view the list of operations related to the deployment failure, in the view pane, click the node, and then in the Detail Pane, click the Operations tab. To pivot to the operations log to list all the operations related to that node, in the Actions pane, click Operations for the Nodes.

To view more information about a specific operation, click that operation. The Detail Pane will list the log entries for that operation.

You can stop the deployment of a node from HPC Cluster Manager by canceling the provisioning operations.

To cancel the deployment of a node

To view only nodes that are currently being deployed, in Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node State, click Provisioning.

In the views pane, click the node that you want to stop deploying.

To cancel the provisioning operations, in the Detail Pane, on the Node Health tab, click Cancel provisioning. The deployment process will stop, the node will be moved to the Unknown state, and the health for that node will be changed to Provisioning Failed.